1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally concerns eyeglass holders, and particularly concerns adjustable waterproof retainers made from tubular material for eyeglasses and sunglasses and the like.
2. Background Information
Eyeglass and sunglass holders, or straps, perform the functions of holding eyeglasses or sunglasses to the head and snugly in place, or, at other times, supporting the eyeglasses or sunglasses to hang loosely around the neck.
An eyeglass or sunglass holder should be economical of manufacture, effective in performance, durable in use, and appealing in design. In particular, an eyeglass holder should be easily manually adjustable in both length and tension during use. Nonetheless to such easy adjustability, the eyeglass holder should hold firmly to the temple pieces, or other parts, of the eyeglasses that are supported upon the user's head. The eyeglass holder should desirably be compact in both use and storage. It should be readily capable of being affixed by the user to various types of eyeglasses and/or sunglasses to perform its holding function, but should be readily detachable when so desired. Finally, an eyeglass holder should be comfortable while in use.
Many previous eyeglass holders, such as those shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,397,026 and in WIPO international publication no. WO 87/07734 are formed as a loop, preferably up to a foot long, which may be adjusted by a catch or other mechanical means so as to hold eyeglasses tightly to a wearer's head, or, alternatively, to permit the glasses to be held loosely around the wearer's neck. Such a loop at the rear of an eyeglass holder, which may be a fairly large loop for those with small heads or those desiring long eyeglass cords, is both aesthetically and functionally undesirable. It presents an uncomfortable knot, or bulge, beneath the back of the user's head when the user rests upon his/her back. It is subject to being snagged or pulled, and to gather contaminants such as dirt from the environment.
Several types of eyeglass holders that adjust without producing a loop of excess holder material at the rear of the user's head are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 182,013; 1,819,738; 3,450,467; and 4,321,804. The first two U.S. Patents show stiff, metal, eyeglass holders in the form of adjustable bows that straddle the head. Nonetheless to the antiquity of these references, the U.S. Pat. No. 1,819,738 for SPECTACLES shows an early attempt to adapt a (metal) bow holder to the temple frames of existing eyeglasses, and to permit the bow to be adjusted transversely of the head by having two members which extend towards, and grasp, each other while overlapping to a variable extent. The two members are connected for sliding relative to each other, but with sufficient frictional binding between them so as to prevent them from slipping out of a set position when in use.
The latter-mentioned U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,450,467 and 4,321,804 show two lengths of chain, cord, or the like each of which terminates in an element having a passageway therethrough. One end of each chain or cord is secured to a respective engaging element after passing through the passageway of the other element. Frictional engagement of each chain or cord in the regions where it passes through the passageway of the element permits a variable overlap, and a variable adjustment, of the eyeglass holder. This adjustment scheme is also recognized in U.S. Pat. No. 4,321,804 to be suitable to produce an ADJUSTABLE NECKLACE OR BRACELET.
This type of adjustment is called "overlapping" within this specification. It is a generally superior type of adjustment, being adjustable over a broad range of lengths in by a compact and reliable adjustment mechanism.
Meanwhile, one modern material for use in forming the loop of an eyeglass holder is a resilient, stretchable, elastomeric tubular hose. Such a hose is typically brightly colored, substantially impervious to wear, breakage, or contamination, and comfortable on use. Alas, there has previously been no effective way to adapt such a length of tube to an overlapping scheme of adjustment. Clips, sleeves, plugs and the like that are suitable for engaging the internal and external surfaces of flexible resilient tubing, including during use of such tubing as a retaining strap for eyeglasses, are known, and are shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,406,042 and 4,783,164. However, such clips and the like do not support the preferred overlapping adjustment scheme.
Accordingly, although (i) the use of resilient, stretchable, tubular, material within eyeglass holders, and (ii) the adjustment of the length of such tubing by frictional fittings, are both previously known, previous tubular eyeglass holders and retainers made from such tubular material suffer from not having fittings that (i) permit an adjustment of the preferred, overlapping, type to be made, while simultaneously (ii) being effective in use, economical of manufacture and aesthetically pleasing in appearance.
It would be of still further benefit if a functionally-effective, cost-effective, and aesthetically-pleasing combination of a resilient stretchable tubular eyeglass cord and fittings--preferably appropriate to permit an overlapping adjustment--should still further, synergistically, permit that the eyeglass holder should be transformed into some other useful device such as, for example, a bracelet.